KCSD donates old iMacs to Study Buddies program

sweigel@21st-centurymedia.comKENNETT SQUARE — The Study Buddies program may soon have a batch of new computers, courtesy of the Kennett Consolidated School District.

School board members voted unanimously to donate up to 25 used iMacs from the high school technology department to the nonprofit organization that works with underprivileged Kennett students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

LaToya Myers, executive director of the Historic East Linden Project, which sponsors Study Buddies, said at a recent meeting that even though the computers are older, they are a valuable resource.

The computers will be used to give students a chance to access online instructional programs, such as Study Island and First in Math.

Myers said the iMacs are also a useful tool used by program instructors to calm rambunctious students down when they first arrive.

“Most of the kids in our program actually don’t have computers at home; if they do have computers at home, they don’t have Internet access,” Myers said. “So the only time that they actually get to use the computers is at this program.”

In those cases, the students are also hampered because their parents are usually not computer literate and cannot provide additional support.

District technology director Dan Maguire said the computers have little resale value and it would be too costly to otherwise upgrade the laptops.

“It’s about $100 per device,” Maguire said of the resale value. “So the return on investment for us to donate (the laptops) to Study Buddies — because they’ll be using the online programs that the students access in school — is far more valuable.”

The original motion called for up to five computers to be donated. After a discussion among board members, however, it was raised to no more than 25.

Maguire said the district has roughly 150 computers at that price point, and that the original five were suggested as a starting point for the donation.

“They are older machines, so there are limitations,” he said. “You want to be as consistent as possible, just like in a regular classroom environment, because the (tech) support isn’t going to be there.”

Study Buddies instructor Katie Perigo said that of the seven computers they have, only four actually work, and at least one dates back to 1990.

The group ranges between 20 and 30 students, Perigo said, depending on a variety of factors.

The students in the group are comprised mostly of students from Greenwood, Perigo said, with a few from the Mary D. Lang kindergarten center and one family from Bancroft Elementary.

Perigo said the first part of the sessions is generally dedicated to instructional time, with Kennett High School volunteers providing some guidance. The second half is dedicated to building communication skills and some downtime. The students are rotated through the few existing computers, she said.

Myers said the organization works with a lot of children with personal challenges, from behavioral issues to borderline poverty.

“The computers are the thing that actually settles them down,” she said. “So if we could have one for each child that would be the ideal situation. But we make it work with whatever we have.”

The organization operates out of the basement Bethany UAME Church on East Linden Street, Myers said. The students walk to and from to the program because most live on East Linden Street.